Cotton-picker.



1L. C. STUKENBORG.

COTTUN PICKER. APPLICATION FILED 11111.10. 1918.

Pafemed sept. 24,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

L. C. STUKENBORG.

COTTON PICKER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10| 1918.

l,2?9,3 Patented Sept. 24, 1918.4

f 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2. 2/gj l yg M 20 COTTON PICKER.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. I0. |918.

1,279,933. Patented sept. 24,1918

, 3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

LOUIS C. STUKENBORG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNGR TO FREDERICK W. STUKEN Bone, oF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COTTON-PICKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 31918.

Application led JanuarylO, 1918. Serial N o. 211,176.

useful Improvements in Cotton-Pickers; andl I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This `invention relates to improvements in cotton picking machines, and refers more particularly to that genera-l type of machine illustrated inmy United States Letters Patent No. 1,264,575, dated April 30, 1918.

The present invention relates to improvements in f the take-oli' device by which the cotton is rremoved from the picking brushes;

to improvements in the mountings for the rotative picker brushes and the take-olf device, designed to prevent the cotton fiber from Wrapping about theirotating parts in a manner tending to clog the machine; to novel means for counterbalancing the weight of the picker head and transmission tube, and means for supporting the flexible or jointed driving shaft in such a way as to avoid Whipping of the shaft, and relates further to other improvements and details of construction.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of the parts shown inthe drawings and described in the specification, and is pointed out in the appended claims.

.Figure 1-is a side elevation of a cotton j picking machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail of the support for 'the counterbalancing device.

Fig. 3 is an en arged plan view of the picker head.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 are sections on the lines 5 5 and 6 6, respectively, of Fig. 4.'

Theframe 1 0 of the machine, the receiving basket 11, the motor 12 and the suction fan 13 follow closely the construction and arrangement shown in my aforesaid patent and need not be further referredv to. 14 designates a conveying tube for the cotton, to

the louter end of which is connected the picker head 15; the rear end of said tube communicating with the suction fan 13.

The picker mechanism of the head is driven from a counter shaft 17 that is connected to and driven by the engine 12, through the medium of a jointed or flexible transmission shaft 20. Said transmission shaft consists of a number of sections of straight or solid shaft that are connected by hinged joints 21, and are provided in a known Way at their hinged ends With mating gears so constructed as to be maintained in mesh in all positions of adjustment of the shaft sections relatively to each other. The terminal section 32 of said shaft (Fig. 4) is mounted in a suitable bearing in the head and is geared to the picker mechanism -in the manner hereinafter described.

The Weightof the head and conveying tube and also the transmission shaft, as hereweight 23, lwhich is supported in the bight of a cable 24, one end of which is attached at 25 to the overhanging arm26 of a standard 27. Said cable is trained about pulleys 28 mounted on said arm, and is attached at its other end, by means of a ring 29 and a clip 30, to the section of the transmission shaft nearest adjacent to the countershaft 17. If desired, a cushioning spring 33 may be inserted into the cable 24 near its point of attachment to the transmission shaft.

The conveying tube 14 may be suspended, at a point between its ends, from one section of the transmission sha-ft, as by meansv of a clip 34, which encircles said tube, and is provided with jaws that embrace the transmission shaft section, and said clip is clamped tb the tube and shaft by means of a clamping bolt 35 extending through apertures in said jaws.

' The arrangement described provides means whereby the tube, the transmission shaft and head are counterbalanced bythe weight 23.

The eft'ect'of this arrangement is to relievev the operator of the weight of the parts so that the head may be directed to the work the tube, shaft, and head will be attained whether or not the tube be connected tothe shaft, as by the clip'34. rThe connection of the tube to the shaft is advantageous, however, because the tube is prevented from objectionable sagging when the head is operating1 adjacent to the frame.

he connection of the jointed transmission shaft to the counterweight avoids side whipping of the shaft. A transmission shaft' and its cable 24 enables the shaft to be extended or retracted as desired in use.

With respect to the counterbalancing of the parts and relieving the operator of the work of carrying the weight of the head, shaft, and tube, the parts are so counterbalanced that, while the head will remain in any extended position in which it is laced, a slight force is required to depress 1t so that the operator, instead of supporting the weight of the head, will, in effect, support a portion of his own weight on the head in depressing it when directing it to the work.

The standard 27 may be supported in any suitable manner on the machine frame. As shown in Fig. 2, a step bearing 38 isl attached to theframe at the bottom thereof and at one side, and said standard extends through an apertured supporting ear or lug 39 xed to the side of the frame near the top thereof. It will, of course, be understood that the particular manner of mounting the counterbalancing device may be varied, and if a hollow standard be employed, the counterweight 23 may be located within the hollow standard.

The picker head mechanism shown in Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive, embraces in its construction two rotative brushes comprising cores 40, 40 and angularly spaced rows of bristle tufts 41. Said brushes are xed to upper and lower shafts 42 that are mounted in suitable bearings in the side walls 43, 44 of the head casing. They rotate in directions to cause them to move toward each other at the receiving side of the picker mechanism, as indicated by the arrows. in

Fig. 4.

nar/enea larged mouth portion 47, a rearwardly extending neck portion 48, to which latter the conveying tube is connected,'and a throat portion 50. Said throat portion is somewhat restricted in vertical dimension, but is widened in lateral dimension to give ample clearance for the passage of the cotton therethrough. The vertical dimension of the throat is limited by upper and lowerbearing blocks 52, which are attached to the upper and lower walls of the throat portion of the casing by screws 53.

The shafts 42 'of the rotary brushes are mounted in bearings carried by the side Walls 43, 44, best shown in Fig. 5. Preferably anti-friction bearing rollers are interposed between jthe shafts and said side walls. As herein shown, the shafts carry at their outer ends hardened bearing rings 55, and the walls are provided with bearing cups 56, between which and said rings are interposed spherical bearing elements 57. rlhe said bearing cups 56 are fitted within annular sockets formed in inwardly extending ianges or hollow lugs 58, 59 carried by or made integral with the casing members 43 -and'44, respectively. j

As a further and separate improvement, the brushes are provided at their ends with endwise extending cylindric flanges or shells 60 which overlap and surround said hollow lugs 58 and 59, land extend at their ends closely adjacent to the side walls 43, 44 of the casing. The overlappingor telescopic arrangement of the hollow lugs of the casing walls and the shel'ls of the brush cores prevents access 'of cotton to the bearings, and avoids twisting ofthe cotton fiber'about the bearings in a manner tending to clog the picker mechanism. This construction is also advantageous, in that it affords smooth, unbroken and non-projecting walls in the passageway backwardly, through which the cottonis conveyed through the head`,`and further avoids matting of the cotton and the breaking of the bers thereof. The wall 43 is provided, adjacent .to the bearings for the brush shafts 42, with enlarged o enings through which the adjacent antiiction bearings are inserted to place, and said openings are closed by screw threaded plugs 61.

Arranged in rear of the brushes and moving in contact with the bristles thereof is a rotary take-0E device designated, as a whole by 64, the function of which is to remove or strip the cotton from the brushes. Said take-ofi'l device is generally like the take-off device illustrated in my aforesaid patent, in. that it embraces a series of disappearing stripper pins which are projected outwardly against the brush bristles on the side thereof adjacent to the brushes and which recede into a rotating inclosing member as they move away from the brushes, so as to strip therefrom the cotton removed from the remesa brushes. The details of construction of the take-off device, herein illustrated, varies somewhat from the construction of the aforesaid patent, and are made as follows:

66 (Figs. 4 and 6) designates a shaft which is disposed at. a right angle to the axes of rotation of the brushes. mounted in suitable bearings carried by the 'upper and lower walls of the picker head casing. Said shaft extends through and has bearing in openings in the blocks 52, before referred to, which openings are disposed eccentrically with respect to the axes of said blocks. Mounted on said shaft between the blocks 52 is a sleeve 68. Said sleeve is provided near its ends with annular. grooves 68a, in which are seated the inner ends of stripping -pins 69. Said pins extend radially from the sleeve and are loosely connected thereto at said grooves by pivot pins 7 0 arranged longitudinally of the sleeve and intersecting said grooves. Said stripping ins 69 extend outwardly through apertures 71 in a shell 72 that surrounds the sleeve and is disposed with its axis eccentric to the axis of rotation of said sleeve. As herein shown, said shell is provided at its lends with internal annular bearing faces 74 which engage peripheral bearing faces 75 at the ends of said blocks `52, whereby said v shell rotates about an axis coincident with the axes of said blocks 52. A driving connection between said sleeve 68 and the shell 72 is herein shown as afforded by means of a pin 76 which is rigidly fixed at its inner end to the sleeve and shaft and extends out- .wardly for engagement with an aperture in the shell. The apertures 71 in the shell through which the loosely attached stripping pins extend are enlarged or iared inwardly at the inner side of said sleeve so as to afford the required freedom of movement of the stripping pins therein in the parts of the rotation of said device between the two extreme points Where the pins. project farthest through the` shell and that where the pins are withdrawn farthest invilarlly from the outer periphery of said s el The construction described, embracing the overlapping portions of the blocks 52 and the shell 72, is advantageous, in addition to the bearing thus afforded, in that thev rotating parts of the take-off or stripper device are protected from the entrance of the cotton fiber thereto, so as to thereby avoid the cotton winding on the rotating parts of the bearing in a manner tending to clog the machine or cause it to bind. This construction, inconnection with the similar protection of the bearings for the brushes, affords continuous, smooth walled passages for the cotton rearwardly from the brushes through the head, resulting in minimum power to drive the machine, and also in a It is minimum compression or compacting of the cotton passing therethrough. Because of the latter condition the cotton reaches 'the basket or receptacle 11 in a iufy condition and in a good condition for ginning. For the same reason the loose or iuffy cotton permits air, by which it is conveyed to the basket, to pass freely therethrough 4on its way to the storage basket so that damp cotton will be thereby virtually dried and also dirt will be freed from the cotton fiber. v

The shaft of the take-ofil device is provided at its upper end exterior to the casing with a beveed pinon 78, which meshes with a beveled pinion 79 on a horizontal counter shaft 80 that is rotatively mounted in bearings in extension walls 81, 81 of the picker head casing. Said counter shaft is provided with a secondbeveled pinion 83, which meshes with a pinion 84 that is carried by the forward section 32 of the transmission shaft 20. Said shaft section 32 is rotatively mounted in a bearing 86, shown as formed integral with the upper wall of the member 46 of the picker head casing. The said bearing embraces a removable cap piece 88, and the meshing gears 78, 79, 83 and 84 and the counter-shaft 80 are covered by a removable cover plate 90 attached by screws 91 to the casing. AThe removal of said bearing cap 88 and cover plate 90 affords access to the nest of gears and t0. the associated shafts so that said parts may be readily inspected and repaired.

It will be observed that the section 32 of the transmission shaft is offset in respect of the center of the head. This construction is preferable, as compared to the conlstruction shown' in my aforesaid patent in that,-irst, it is more practical to mesh a pair of transmitting gears than a nest of three'gears, and, second, because the location of said transmission shaft section 32 at one side of the longitudinal axis of the head largely, if not wholly, neutralizes the tendency of the head to twist in the hand, due to the driving force of the transmission shaft. Thus the head may be directed to its work with more comfort to the operator.

The brushes and take-of device are driven in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4. Said brushes are rotated from the counter shaft 80, as will be evident from an inspection of Figs. 3, 4 and 5. As shown in said figures, 92 designates a toothed gear which is fixed to one end of said countershaft, at the left hand side of the head, asl

by means of screws 95, to the side wail of the enlarged or mouth portion of the casing. l 4

Guard fingers 97 are arranged partially across the mouth of -the head. rlhey are herein shown as fixed to bars 98 that are removably set in and attached to the upper and lower walls of the picker head at the mouth, as by means of screws 99. -Said guard fingers extend toward but terminate short of each other. They are made of suitable spring metal, whereby they are springable towardthe brushes when the cotton is directed into the head by the coaction of said brushes. When the pressure of the inwardly moving cotton is removed the guard lingers spring to their normal positions and have the effect of throwing outwardly or rejecting hulls, pods or leaves intercepted by said fingers.

The head is provided adjacent to the throat 50 with a receiving opening 100 through which air, set in motion by the exhaust fan 13, is driven into-the head. The air s0 set in motion backwardly through the head and tube 14 carries the 'cotton back- .wardly to the basket 11, vand the opening 100 is so positioned that the movement of the air is conned principally to the region of the head in the rear of the take-0E device.

vSaid opening is located on the side of the head near and closely adjacent to the side of the rotating take-off device which moves away from the brushes. As the take-off device moves away fromthe brushes the stripping pins retire or disappear into the shell 2, and it is at this vice, and in a position where the pins are in most favorable position for the release of cotton therefrom, that the incoming air strikes the cotton. Therefore, it becomes practical to direct the air, not only to carry the cotton back after it has been released from the take-off device, but to assist the stripper pins in so releasing the cotton from the take-ofi device. The holes in the shell 72 through which the stripper pins operate are suiiiciently large that the air which en ters the head through the opening 100 and through the mouth passes through said holes, and serves as a cooling means to reduce the temperature of the shell due to the friction of the pins against the Same. rlhe air that passes through thevshell serves also as means to assist in releasing cotton from the take-ofi" device at the rear of the same, this being auxiliary to the air flowing directly to the rear side of the device from the opening 100. Moreover air thus passing through shell 72 clears the same of any foreign matter that may enter the same, such as sand and dirt enmeshed in the cotton fiber. j

M uch the larger percentage of thejair by which the cotton is conveyed rearwardly through the tube 14 enters the head through Vsuction device, a picker .tube connecting the picker head to said sucpart of the take-off dewith said brushes, embracin sgat-asse the opening 100, although there is an appreciable flow of air through the mouth into the head. lit will be understood that the cotton is passed intermittently through the head, due to the presentation of the head from boll to boll, so that momentarily the air passes into the head and port and through fthe shell of the take-off device when the to the frame, combined with means for counterbalancing the weight of the picker head, the conveying tube and said flexible shaft, said counterbalancing means being connected to the flexible shaft at a point interme-` diate its ends to prevent side whipping of said shaft.

` 2. A cotton picking machine comprising a head, a conveying tion device, a jointed shaft connected to the picker head and extending rearwardly therefrom, means to drive said shaft, and a counterweight connected to a sectionv of said jointed shaft near said driving means and conterbalancing the picker head, shaft, and tu e.

3. A cotton picking machine comprising a suction device, a picker head, aconveymg tube connecting the picker head to said suction device, a jointed shaft -connected to the picker head and extending rearwardly therefrom, means to drive said shaft, a counterweight connected to said ljointed shaft near said driving means to counterbalance the picker head, shaft, and tubeyand means for supporting the conveying tube, intermediate the ends of the latter, from said shaft.

LA cotton picking machine. comprising a picker head and rotative, interacting picker brushes, combined with a take-0E device in rear of and movable in contact inner and outer rotative, eccentrically isposed elements, the latter perforated, and a series of stripper pins loosely connected to the inner rotative element and movable into and out of theperforated element.

5. A cotton picking machinecomprising a picker head and rotative interacting picker brushes, combined with a take-off llo device in rear of and movable in contact .with said brushes, embracing inner and outer rotative, eccentrically disposed.- elements, the latter perforated, a series of stripper pins loosely connected to the inner rotative element and movable intoand out of the perforated element and means to positively drive one rotative element from the other. A

6. A cotton picking machine a picker head and rotative interacting picker brushes, combined with a take-off device in rear of and movable in contact with said brushes, embrac-ing inner and outer rotative, eccentrically disposed elements, thelatter perforated, a series of stripper pins loosely connected to the inner rotative element and movable into and out of the perforated element, with means to drive the inner element, and a positive driving connection between the inner and outer rotative elements.

'7.' A cotton picking machine comprising a picker head embracing rotative, interacting brushes, combined with a take-off device in rear of and movable in contact with said brushes, comprising a sleeve, with means to rotate it, a perforated shell eccentric to and surrounding` said sleeve and provided with internal, annular bearings, supporting members having external, peripheral bearings overlapping and engaged by the internal bearings of said shell, and stripper pins connected to said sleeve and movable through the perforations of said shell.

8. A cotton picking machine comprising a picker head embracing rotative, interacting brushes, combined with a take-olf device in rear of and movable in contact with said brushes, comprising a sleeve, with means to rotate it, a perforated shell eccencomprising ltric to and surrounding said sleeve and provided with internal, annular bearings, Supporting members having external peripheral bearings overlapping and'engaged by the internal bearings of said shell, stripper pins loosely connected at theirinner ends to said sleeve and extending outwardly through the perforations of said shell, the said perforations of the shell being enlarged inwardly to accommodate swinging movement of said pins relatively to their supporting sleeve, and means for positively driving the shell from said sleeve.

9. A cotton picking machine comprising a picker head embracing rotative, interacting brushes, combinedl with a take-ofi'l device in rear of and moving in contact with said brushes, comprising a shaft, a sleeve mounted thereon, a series of picker lingers loosely connected at their inner ends 4to said sleeve and extending radially therefrom, a perforated shell eccentric to and surrounding said sleeve, through the perforations of which the stripper pins are movable, and a driving pin rigidly fixed to said shaft and sleeve and extending through an opening in said shell.

10. A cotton picking machine comprisi a picker head formed to provide a moult and neck portion and a throat portion therebetween, and rotative, interacting picker brushes at said mouth, combined with a rotative take-ofi' device at the throat and ,movable in contact with said brushes, compris- .ing oppositely located blocks havin exter- 11. A cotton picking machine comprising a picker head formed to provide a mouth and neck portion and therebetween a throat portion, and rotative, interacting picker brushes at said mouth, combined with a take-off device at the throatv and movable in contact with the brushes, comprising oppositely located blocks having external bearings, a shell having internal bearings supported on and rotative on said blocks, said blocks being provided with alined, eccentrically disposed openings, a shaft extending through said openings, a sleeve supported on said shaft, stripper pins loosely carried by and rotative with said sleeve, and a pin fixed rigidly to said sleeve and shaft and extending outwardly intoan opening in said shell.

12. A cotton a picker head formed to provide a mouth,

a neck and a. throat between the neck and mouth, land rotative, interacting picker brushes at said mouth, combined with a rotative take-off device at said .throat and movable incontact with said brushes, said take-off comprising oppositely located bearing members, a perforated shell overlapping at its ends supported on, and rotative relatively to, said bearing members, amrgtative sleeve within and eccentric to said shell,

14. A cotton picking machine comprising picking machine comprising a picker head embracing a casing, a palr of oppositely rotative,.interacting brushes, and movable take-off means i-n rear of and in contact with said brushes, and bearings for the shafts of said brushes embracing inwardly extending lugs on opposing casing walls, and shells extending endwise from the brush cores and overlapping said lugs.

- 15. A cotton picking machine comprising a picker head embracing a casing, a pair of oppositely rotative, interacting brushes,

rotative take-off means in rear of and in 4 contact with said brushes, and bearings for the shafts ofsaid brushes embracing antlfriction elements and shells extending endwise from the brush cores and overlap-ping said bearings.

16. In a cotton picking machine, cotton picker means to directly engage the cotton bolls, a head. inclosing the same having an open mouth and a take-ofi device in rear of and in contact with said picker means, embracing a perforated shell, through the perforations of which air passing into-the head shell and rotatable about anaxis within the shell and eccentric to said external bearings.

18. A cotton picker comprising a picker head, picker means therein adapted to remove the cotton from the bur, and a takeoff device t o coact with the picker means comprising an outer rotative, perforated element, a second rotatable element inclosed within and eccentric to the outer perforated element and grooved to receive the inner ends of take-off pins, take-off pins seated in the grooves of said inner element, and adapted to extend through the apertures of said shell, said pins being perforated at their inner ends, and pivot pins extending hamaca through said second element and through the perforations of the take-0E pins.

19. In a cotton picker, a picker head having a mouth, oppositely rotative, interacting brushes at said mouth having cores provided with extended shafts, bearings on opposite walls of the head in which said shafts are rotatively mounted, and shells extending endwise from the cores and overlapping said bearings.

20. A cotton picking machine comprising a picker head and rotative, interacting picker brushes, combined with a take-od device in rear of and -movable in contact with said brushes, embracing inner and outer rotative, eccentrically dlsposed elements, the latter perforated, and a series of lstripper pins loosely connected to `the inner rotative elementand movable into and out of the perforated element, the perforations of said outer element being enlarged inwardly to accommodate movement of the pins due to the eccentricity of said inner and outer elements.

21. A cotton picking machine comprising4 a picker head embracing rotative, inter-acting brushes, combined with a take-off device in rear of and coperating with said brushes,

said take-ofi" device Acomprising inner and outer rotative eccentrically vdisposed elements, the latter perforated, bearings in the head and overlapped by the endsl of the outer element for supporting the latter, and

.a seriesA of stripper pins connected to the inner rotative element and movable into and out of the outer perforated element.

In witness whereof I claim the foregoing as my invention, I hereunto append my signature in the presence of two witnesses at Atlanta, Fulton Co., Georgia, this eleventh day of December, 1917.

LOUIS C. STUKENBORG.

Witnesses:

L. FQ WEGERLY, J'. D. KEARNEY. 

